For keeping youngful appearance by protecting the skin from the exterior environment such as dryness and physical stimuli and keeping the skin soft by moisturizing it, cosmetic compositions comprising a polyol such as glycerin and oil agents and moisturizing agents such as amino acids and hyaluronic acid have been developed. These cosmetic compositions protect the skin, owing to application of an emulsion layer containing oil and water to the skin, from outside stimuli and prevent evaporation of moisture from the interior of the skin, and simultaneously, supply a certain amount of water to the skin, contributing to improvement of rough skin and dry skin.
In the meantime, cosmetic compositions comprising a keratinocyte intercellular lipid component such as ceramide and further having a lamellar structure similar to that of an intercellular lipid are proposed (Non-Patent Document 1, Patent Document 1).
However, if an amphipathic solid lipid having a high melting point such as a ceramide is added to an oil-in-water emulsion, separation of the emulsion and gelatinization are likely to occur with the passage of time. Since it is difficult to keep a composition stable as mentioned above, there are many limitations in a production method and formulation.
Since a ceramide tends to be crystallized, it has been proposed to add a large amount of emulsifier with respect to an amount of a ceramide (Patent Document 2, Patent Document 3); however, these methods have a problem in poor adaptability to the skin during use.
In addition, since a ceramide itself is expensive, there is a problem in terms of the versatility of ceramide.
In the meantime, there is a technique known in the art for forming the lamellar structure without using a ceramide, and the like. This is a technique using an arginine salt of a fatty acid (Non-Patent Document 2).
Furthermore, cosmetic compositions using an arginine salt of a fatty acid in combination with a higher alcohol and a surfactant have been studied (for example, Patent Document 4).    Non-Patent Document 1: The journal of investigative dermatology, vol. 96(6), 845-851 (1991)    Non-Patent Document 2: J. Oleo. Sci., vol. 54(6), 325-333 (2005)    Patent Document 1: JP-A-H6-345633    Patent Document 2: JP-A-2003-12486    Patent Document 3: JP-A-H7-223934    Patent Document 4: JP-A-2007-9199